Fluid sealed valve



March 23, 1954 MATTHEWS 2,673,126

FLUID SEALED VALVE Filed March 10, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 o o o o o g 0 O O O O o o 7 O O O O O Q O O O O I E ax INVENTOR 5517 6 J i fazzlzen s ATTORNEY E. J. MATTHEWS FLUID SEALED VALVE March 23, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 10, 1950 I za l g INVENTOR 210 J. Ma i/7am;

ATTORNEY March 23, 1954 E. J. MATTHEWS 2,673,126

FLUID SEALED VALVE Filed March 10. 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ATTORNEY March 23, 1954 J T WS 2,673,126

FLUID SEALED VALVE Filed Marph 10, 1950 5. Shee'ts-Sheet 4 INVENTOR 7 ATTORNEY March 23, 1954 E. J. MATTHEWS FLUID SEALED VALVE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 10, 1950 INVENTOR ric J/llazzfien s ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 23, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLUID SEALED VALVE Eric John Matthews, to The Babcock &

Cheam, Wilcox Company, Rockleigh, N. J., a corporation of New Application March 10, 1950, Serial No.

Claims priority, application England, assignor Jersey Great Britain March 14, 1949 14 Claims.

This invention relates to valves suitable for controlling elastic fluid in which is entrained finely divided solid material, for example, valves for use in connection with pulverized fuel con- In pulverized fuel firing systems the necessity sometimes arises of selectively connecting inlet branches each associated with a movable valve member and communicating' with the An object of the invention is to provide a valve operable in such manner that the danger that fine particles carried in suspension on one side valve members.

The present invention for controlling a stream divided, solid material,

includes a valve suitable of gas-entrained, finely opposing part of the valve and with means for leading gaseous fluids to the gap between the said face or edge and opposing part.

The invention furthermore includes a valve suita Is for controlling elastic fluid bearing finely passage and slidable valve members respectively associated with the branches, the valve body being made in separate sections including sections which are formed with grooves within which the valve members are slidable and seats for engagement by the valve members when in their closed positions.

position;

Figure 3 is a front of the left half of the valve shown in Figure 1, in

3, to show details; Figures 5 and 6 are views of the rear margins of a valve member and valve body in section on VIVI respectively of Figure 4;

dotted lines.

The embodiment of my invention, as illustrated, comprises a fluid sealed valve adapted to control the delivery of primary air and pulverized coal from separate sources, such as two pulverizing mills, through a common conduit, e. g. in a manner disclosed in British Patent specification No. 582,593, accepted November 21, 1946. As shown herein'the valve includes a body l which provides two separate symmetrically arranged upwardly converging inlet passages 2 formed in respective flanged inlet branches 3, and a oom-v mon outlet chamber or passage 4 formed in a flanged outlet body portion 5, the passages 2 and 4 respectively being of practically square cross section and intersecting one another in the form of an inverted Y. As indicated in Figure. l, and exemplified in the aforesaid patented disclosure, the flanged inlet branches 3 may be connected through separate conduits A, A to the outlets of separate pulverizers, not shown, while the flanged outlet portion 5 may be connected through conduitB to a known form of distributor, not shown, and thence for example, to a plurality of burners, also not shown. With each inlet branch 3 a movable valve member 6 is associated which may be moved between open and closed positions by a hand wheel '2 at the front of the, valve.

The body is formed of separate sections. The front of each passage is defined by a single casting 8 that will be referred to as the front plate, and the rear of each passage by a similar casting 9 that will be referred to as the rear plate. The sides of the outlet passage 4 are defined respectively by two vertical topside spacers it bolted to the front and rear plates. The outer sides of the two inlet passages 2 are defined respectively by two inclined bottom side spacers bolted to the front and rear plates, and the inner sides of the two inlet passages 2. are defined respectively by opposite sides of a single bottom spacer l2 also bolted to the front and, rear plates.

At each side of the outlet, passage 4 the front and rear plates 8 and 9 are each formed with an outward extension l3, and a top guard plate l4 and a side guard plate, l5; are secured to the front and rear plate extensions and to one another to. form a chamber- IB- towhich an elastic fluid, normally air, is supplied.

Each valve member is, in the form of a pair of rectangular valve plates 20 and 2| riveted: together by countersunk rivets 22 which have centre sections 23 of larger diameter which hold the two plates apart. The pair of valve plates is ca.- pable of closing communication between the corresponding inlet passage 2- and the outlet passage 4 by extending from the front plate 8 tothe rearplate 9, and from the locality between the bottom of the top side spacer l0 and the top of the bottom side spacer H to the bottom spacer l2. The dimensions of the valve plate 20, on the inlet side of the valve member, are such that it is adapted to engage seatings 24 respectively on the front and rear plates and to engage a seating 25 on the bottom spacer I2, The valve plate 2|, on the outlet side of the valve member, is of smaller dimensions and at its front, rear, and bottom edges does not extend to the seatings 24, or the seating 25, but leaves a slight gap 26 between the plate and the seatings.

A pair of valve plates 20 and 2| when moved to the fully open position are housed except for their lowermost parts inv the adjacent air chamber l6. Packing strips 21 are provided in respec,- tive recesses in, the bottom of the top side spacer i0 and in the top of the bottom side spacer II, which contact the valve plates to prevent or reduce the passage of air from the air chamber l6 into the adjacent inlet passage or the outlet passage.

For operating a pair of valve plates, to the plates near the upper edges thereof are secured the lower ends of a pairof spaced, parallel, longitudinally movable rods 3!] which extend through the adjacent air chamber l6 and pass through openings in the top guard plate l4, upon which are mounted closed cylindrical housings 3| arranged respectively for the reception of the rods 30 when the pair of valve plates is moved from the closed position. Each housing 3| has an adjustable stop 32 at its upper end and at its lower end a block 33 carrying a bushing 34 within which the rod slides.

lfhe rods are formed as racks and for operating the rods of the pair in unison two pinions 35 are provided which engage with the rack teeth on the respective rods and are mounted on a common shaft 35, on which the handwheel 1 is also mounted. Rollers 31 mounted on a common shaft 38 are provided for supportin the respective rods opposite to the respective pinions.

The said blocks 33 carry a slidable locking bolt 4| disposed transversely with respect to. the rods 30, each of which is provided with upper and lower grooves 42 and 43 respectively designed to enable the locking bolt to be moved longitudinally when the pair of valve plates. is respectively in the closed position or in the fully open position. The bolt 4| is formed with annular recesses 44 spaced apart a distance equal to the distance between the two rods, and designed to permit longitudinal movement of the rods when the centree of the recesses are opposite to the axes of the rods. A handle 45 is provided for moving the locking bolt, and for identifying the posi-- tion of the bolt in which the rods are free to be moved, and a suitable locking position of the bolt, as well as. for retaining the bolt in either position, a plate 46 is secured to the top guard plate. l4, the plate 46 having a slot 41- through which the handle 45 extends and, being formed with two downwardly extendin recesses 48 and 49.

The front and rear plate extensions I'3 on each side of the valve are formed with grooves 58 in which the edges of the valve plates slide within the air chambers. The seatings 24 are machined as continuations of the bottom surfaces of; the grooves.

The lowermost, end of each topside spacer lad is cut away to provide a recess 5| in which the bottom edges of the valve plates lie outside the mainstream of ail-and pulverized coal when the valve plates are in the fully open pcs 'ion (see Figure 7).

The valve seatings include also main seating surfaces 52, immediately below the seatings 24,, which surfaces are formed in the front and rear plates, are machined as continuations of the lower sides of the grooves 50, and are contacted by the lower marginal surfaces of the plates. 20, which obtain support therefrom. In order to avoid. the presence upon each end of the seating 25 of a lodging place in which particles might pac and prevent proper closing of the valve, each surface 52; extends downwardly only to a position short of the seating 25 on the bottom spacer l2, adjacent: the ends of which a recess 53 is formed, which slightly undercutsthe seat.- ing 2.4. During; a closing movemento-ithe valve plates the recess provides, room, for; the, easy escape. from between the valve plates, and the bottom spacer 12 of any material shifted by the valve plates in sliding over the surface 52 during their closing movement.

Each extension I 3 of the rear plate 9 is provided with a tapped boss 54 for facilitating connection to the two air chambers it of a supply pipe for air or other gaseous fluid under pressure.

To the front and rear plates are bolted respective feet 55 for facilitating the mounting of the valve in a suitable position in a pulverized coal firing installation.

During the service of the described valve, arranged for operation in an installation, when one pair of valve plates is in the open position and the other pair of. valve plates is closed and primary air and pulverized coal are flowing through the valve body past one of the recesses 5!, air is supplied to the air chambers l6 at a sufiiciently high pressure so that each pair of valve plates is supplied with air which flows into the space between the upper edges of the upper and lower valve plates. lihe air flowing from between the bottom edges of the pair of valve plates in the open position tends to drive the pulverized coal particles away from the said bottom edges of the plates thereby to protect them from erosion, while in the case of the pair of valve plates in the closed position the air flowing through the gap 26 between the front and rear edges of the upper plate Ill and the seatings 24, and the gap bottom edge of the same upper plate 2| and the seating 25, serves to direct the primary air and entrained particle away from the lower plate 2!] and the seatings 24, 25 and 52 so that, even if the said lower valve plate 2i! is not perfectly seated, passage of particles past the plates is prevented. It is evident, therefore, that the pressure at which elastic fluid is supplied to chambers it should have a pressure relationship to the pressures existing within each of the passages 2 and 4 at opposite sides of the respec tive valve members E5, and accordingly must be higher than the pressure in either of these passages in order to develop pressures along the marginal edges of the valve members sufiiciently high portions at the respective seating locations.

An operator is aware when a pair of valve plates is in the closed position or in the fully open position since the locking bolt to locking position only when plates is in the one or the other of those positions.

When a pair ofvalve plates is to be moved to the fully open position the operator withdraws the locking rotates the handwheel 1 associated with the pair of valve plates to move the latter to the fully open position and returns the locking bolt M to the locking position so that the valve plates are held in the open position.

In order to move the pair of valve plates to the closed position the locking bolt 4! is withdrawn from the locking position and the operator controls the hand-wheel l to lower the valve plate to the closed position, after which the locking bolt M is returned to the locking position. During thelowering of the valve plates the flow of air from between the front, rear, and bottom edges of the valve plates tends to clean the seatings 2d and 25 of particles which may have adhered thereto.

The housing of the front and rear valve plate margins, when the valve plates are in the open positions, in grooves 50 whose bottoms and sides aretmachined as continuations of valve seatings the pair of valve T4: to insure fluid flow outward from interplate space 4| can be moved 1 bolt ll from the locking position,

24 and 52 makes for efiiciency of the valve by ensuring proper alignment of the valveplates in the valve.

The construction of the valve body in separate sections facilitates the construction of the parts defining the air passages 2 and 4 out makes possi of the top side spacers I0 and the tops of the bottom side spacers H, and facilitates the machining of the surfaces Moreover only a section of the valve need be replaced in case, for example, of need to replace a surface worn by erosion. All the surfaces on the front and rear plates with which the bottom spacer and side spacers engage may be machined at the same time, so facilitating the disposing of the spacers correctly relatively to one another and to the front and rear plates.

The top side spacers it, in directions towards which the pulverized coal particles flow in the respective opposite inlet passages 2, are made with relatively thick walls in order to allow for a certain amount of wear by erosion.

While in accordance with the provision of the statutes I have illustrated and described herein the best form of my invention now known to me, those skilled in the art will understand that changes may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention covered by my claims, and that certain features of my invention may sometimes be used to advantage without a correspending use of other features.

I claim:

1. A valve for controlling a stream of gas-entrained, finely divided, solid material, wherein a body member is formed with a passage through which said material is admitted and a valve seating is formed at the perimeter of said passage, a valve member arranged for movement relative to said seating and having a peripheral sealing portion adapted to engage sai seating in the closed position, one of said members having a passageway formed therein for discharging a flow of elastic fluid interiorly of said valve in the neighborhood of said peripheral sealing portion at the downstream side of said valve member when in extreme positions of movement relative to said seating, said seating having a downstream surface extension defining in part an outlet through' which said fluid is released into said passage when said valve is in said closed position, and means for supplying said fluid to said passageway.

2. A valve for controlling a stream of gas-entrained, finely divided, solid material, wherein a valve seating is formed at the perimeter of a passage through which said material is admitted and a valve member is arranged for movement relative to said seatin said valve member having a peripheral sealing portion adapted to enage said seating in the closed position of said member and havin a passageway formed there-' in for discharging a flow of elastic fluid interiorly of said valve in the neighborhood of said peripheral sealing portion at the downstream side of said valve member when in said closed posi tion, said seating having a downstream surface extension defining in part an outlet through which said fluid is released into said passage, and means for supplying said fluid to said passageway.

3. In a conduit system through which a; stream of providing a passage gas entrained finely divided solid material is directed, means forming a second passage in communication with said first passage through an opening in the side of said first passage, valve means for closing said second passage while material is flowing through said first passage, said valve means comprising a valve member of generally planar formation movable across said second passage and in the closed position having a peripheral end portion in sealing engagement with a seating associated with the wall of said second passage, and means associated with said valve member and operable in the closed position thereof to release a flow of elastic fluid into said first named passage in the neighborhood of said seating and in a direction adapted to direct gas borne particles of said stream away from the downstream side of said peripheral valve member portion, said valve member being formed interiorly with a flow space from which said fluid is released.

4. A valve comprising a body providing a material inlet passage and a valve seating at one side of said passage, a valve member movable relative to said seating, said valve member in the closed position having an upstream peripheral end portion in engagement with said seating and an adjacent downstream peripheral end portion disposed in spaced relation to said seating so as to define a gap therebetween, and means includin a flow channel formed in said valve member for directing elastic fiuid to said gap, said flow channel extending to the exterior of said valve body and opening into a compartment in which said elastic fiuid is maintained under pressure.

5. A valve as claimed in claim 4, wherein the valve member is in the form of two plates occupying upstream and downstream positions respectively and spaced from one another so as to form said flow channel, said plate in the downstream position being of smaller dimension than the other plate in the direction of movement in order to provide the gap, said plate in the upstream position having its peripheral end portion in contact with said seating while the P ripheral end portion of the other of said plates remains spaced from said seating.

6. A valve as claimed in claim and further comprising a chamber into which said valve is movable and from which said fluid is supplied to said flow channel between the plates, and means for actuatin said valve member extending through said chamber.

'7. A valve as claimed in claim 6, wherein the valve member is slidable between open and closed positions and a pair of mutually spaced, parallel, longitudinally movable rods operable in unison constitute the means for actuating the valve member.

8. A valve as claimed in claim '7, wherein the rods are formed as racks, and pinions respectively co-operating therewith are arranged to be driven together, and means for locking the valve member in its closed and open positions.

9. A valve comprisin a rigid metallic body providing a material inlet passage, and a slidable valve member movable transversely of said passage, said body bein formed with grooves within which the valve member is slidable and with seatings aligned with said grooves for engagement by the valve member when in closed position, said body being formed in separate sections includin sections formed with the respective grooves and the respective aligned seatin s, ,sald. valvemember being formedwith imperforate outer walls having flow regions therebetween from which fluid is discharged into said passage and deflected therein in a downstream direction.

10. In a valve for controlling elastic fiuid bearing finely divided solid material, said valve having a body formed with converging branches connecting with a common passage, said valve body being made in separate sections including replaceable front and rear wall valve body sections formed with grooves adapted to receive valve members for slidable movement therein and a bottom section intermediate said side sections and removably connected thereto, said valve body sections being formed with seatings for engagement by said valve members in their closed positions, the combination which comprises valve members of generally planar formation for the respective branches and movable along said front and rear wall seatings to and from closed positions wherein an end portion of each valve member is caused to engage a, separate seating formed in said bottom section, and means associated with each of said valve members and operable in the closed positions thereof to release a flow of elastic fluid into said common passage in the neighborhood of the respective seatings while effecting a deflection of the released fluid in a downstream direction.

ll. In a valve as defined in claim 10 wherein the valve body further includes independently replaceable spacer sections defining the common passage and disposed between said front and rear wall sections respectively opposite the converging branches.

12. In a valve as defined in claim 11 wherein a side and the bottom of each groove are machined as continuations of seatings engaged by the valve member slidable in the groove, when it is in its closed position.

13. In a valve for controlling elastic fluid bear ing finely divided solid material, a valve body formed with converging branches and with a common conduit portion connected thereto, said branches and said common conduit portion providing passages having a common juncture within said body, said body having opposing front and rear walls formed with grooves adapted to receive valve members for slidable movement therein transversely of the respective branch passages, said opposing walls being formed with main sea-tings at the sides of the grooves for supporting the valve members in their respective closed positions and over which each valve member is adapted to slide in its closing movement, said body being formed with valve seatings arranged transversely of the respective paths of valve member movement and positioned for engagement by the respective valves upon movement thereof into closed position, said main seatings at the sides of said grooves extending in the direction of closing movement of the respective valve members only to a position short of said transversely arranged valve seatings, said body including side spacers between said front and rear walls and defining recesses adapted to receive the bottom edges of the respective valve members so as to maintain such edges out of the path of iiuid flow from the respective branch conduits into said common conduit.

14. In a valve, a valve body as defined in claim 13, wherein said opposing front and rear Walls are provided with main seatings formed as continuations of the bases of said grooves for engagement by opposite front and rear edges of the respective valve members and furthermore 10 are provided with recessesadjacent opposite ends Number Name Date of the respective transversely arranged seatings, 2,254,472 Dahl Sept. 2, 1941 each said recess undercutting the main seating 2,305,724 Luetzelschwab Dec. 22, 1942 engaged by an edge of the corresponding valve 2,329,315 Allen Sept. 14, 1943 member. 5 2,330,447 Posey Sept. 28, 1943 ERIC JOHN MATTHEWS. FOREIGN PATENTS References Cited in the file of this patent Number Country Date Great NOV. 10

Number Name Date 1,899,154 Karrick Feb. 28, 1933 

